Star Wars: The Last Jedi Director Explains Final Scene

Star Wars: The Last Jedi director Rian Johnson has explained the significance of the film's final scene. The latest addition to the Star Wars shakes up most everything we know about the galaxy far, far away, with the return of Luke Skywalker and the continuation of the story of Rey and Kylo Ren.

In the final moments of The Last Jedi, we see the Resistance escape after Luke faces off against Kylo Ren and the First Order, buying them time to escape from the cave on Crait. Once our heroes are safe, we get some heartwarming reunions between Leia Organa and Chewbacca, Finn and Rey, and the rest of the Resistance. This isn't the final scene though, as we are then bought back to the casino city of Canto Bight, to the fathier stables and the servant/slave children that work there. One of the boys is telling a story about Luke, but it interrupted when their master barges in and reprimands them for not doing their chores. One of the boys then walks outside, picks up a broom and looks at the Resistance ring that Rose gave him. The final shot of the film shows him holding his broom like a lightsaber, while staring up at a star-filled sky.

In an interview with EW, Rian Johnson broke down Last Jedi's ending scene with the boy - whose name has been revealed as Temiri Blagg - and its connection with Luke Skywalker. Here is what he said:

“It’s mostly about Luke. To me, it shows that the act Luke Skywalker did, of deciding to take on this mantle of ‘the legend,’ after he had decided the galaxy was better off with, had farther reaching consequences than saving 20 people in a cave. Now the Legend of Luke Skywalker is spreading. Hope is reignited in the galaxy.”

Johnson also explained why The Last Jedi brings things back around to Luke Skywalker's legacy, with its final scene:

“I couldn’t think of a more evocative image of hope than a kid who is playing with his Luke Skywalker action figure and being inspired by that to grow up and have an adventure and fight the good fight.”

While we don't know if we'll see Temiri Blagg again, the final scene indicates that Luke was right - that he will not be the last Jedi and the spark of rebellion has been ignited. It opens the doors for the possibilities of the Jedi order coming back in Episode 9, similar to how they were portrayed in the prequel trilogy. This is an exciting step for the franchise becasue everyone wants to see more lightsaber battles and force users make their mark in the galaxy far, far away outside of the Skywalker family - something that the animated series, Star Wars Rebels, has been successful with (read: introducing new force-using characters to the franchise).

We also love how the final scene brings back a sense of nostalgia for Star Wars fans who have been with the series since the beginning and felt a sense of wonder when they were first introduced to Star Wars, its ever-expanding universe filled with lore, and an endless amount of creativity and imagination. Here's to hoping that these new Star Wars movies go on to be equally meaningful to the generation that grows up watching them.